Between January and October of this year, 198,214 passengers from Canada arrived at the Daniel Oduber International Airport in Guanacaste, according to official data from Coriport, the concessionaire that manages that air terminal, a figure that represents an increase of 70 percent compared to the same period. of 2022.
Coriport numbers establish that between January-October 2022, 117,432 passengers arrived from Canadian soil, a figure that showed significant growth for the year 2023.
According to the Guanacaste Airport concessionaire, four Canadian airlines operate: Air Canada Air Transat, Sunwing, and West Jet. The flights come from the Canadian cities of Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton and Calgary.
Very proud
“We are very proud of these statistics. The increase in visits by Canadians is one of the most impressive phenomena we have experienced, breaking records and consolidating Guanacaste as a preferred destination in Canada. “We work hard alongside the VINCI Airports route development team, and the public and private sector to continue strengthening connectivity and quality standards,” said César Jaramillo, General Manager of Guanacaste Airport.
Xavi Palomar, President of the Playa Sámara Tourism Chamber (CTPS), indicated that the “figures are encouraging because it is mostly family tourism with a very positive impact on the cantons of the province.”
“These are the benefits that Guanacaste has with an airport that offers great connectivity with several nations in the world. Consolidating these markets and reaching other parts of the world is extremely important to continue growing for the benefit of hundreds of businesses that welcome visitors,” highlighted the President of the CTPS.
Diplomatic efforts
A group of CTPS managers met with diplomatic representatives of the Canadian Embassy to discuss issues such as citizen security, gender equality and the fight against street sexual harassment, among other areas.
“We are aware of the importance that the Canadian market has for Sámara and Guanacaste in general, as demonstrated by recent figures. For this reason, we wanted to have this approach with the consulate to explain the projects we are developing,” stated the President of the CTPS.
“During the meeting we recounted the details of the Safe Spaces for Women initiative, an effort that we developed together with the Municipality of Nicoya, the National Institute for Women and the Ministry of the Status of Women and which is an emblematic initiative because we are the beach that has the largest network in the fight against the scourge of sexual harassment,” Palomar highlighted.
The CTPS leader highlighted that the approach with the Canadian diplomatic legation in Costa Rica will facilitate future collaborations in the economic, tourist, social and cultural fields “which is of great interest for our community, which already has an outstanding Canadian colony. for several decades.” In addition, from the CTPS and a team from the Canadian Consulate, Carlos Armando Martínez (Mayor of Nicoya), Carlos Cantillo (Mayor of Carrillo) and César Jaramillo (General Manager of Guanacaste Airport) were present at the meeting.
